Chapter 16: Soul from Another World

When Lu Chengjing woke up, the person who took away half of his straw mat had already left. A thin blanket was covered on him, tucked in tightly on all sides, so that no air could get through, and a trace of warmth was still retained.

There was a familiar white porcelain bottle next to his head. He reached out to take it, and as he looked at it, he became increasingly lost in thought.

Shang Wan, who had just arrived at the clinic, rubbed her hot ears. Who was talking about her?

"You're back." Geng Hao stood up from the bed with two huge dark circles under his eyes.

He struggled all night about whether to escape or not. Thinking of Shang Wan's words before she left and her flying-like running skills, he finally decided not to run and honestly took out ten taels of silver to pay for the medicine.

At this moment, he was somewhat happy to see Shang Wan coming back.

Shang Wan was ready to arrest the man, but she didn't expect Geng Hao to be so honest. She just mentioned the tracking gadget casually, but she didn't expect this guy to actually believe it.

She walked closer and glanced at Niu Baoqing, "Why hasn't he woken up yet?"

Geng Hao said, "He woke up once half an hour ago, and when he heard that his mother and brother were dead, he passed out again."

Shang Wan was helpless, "Can't you tell him later? At least ask who the murderer is first."

Geng Hao: "No need to ask, he woke up and shouted that Yang Rang wanted to kill him."

"I bought some steamed buns, soy milk, and fried dough sticks. Let's have breakfast first." Shang Wan invited him to eat over. "There are more patrolling yamen runners in the city. If you stay in the clinic all the time, you'll be discovered sooner or later. I'll get the medicine and you two can hide somewhere else."

Geng Hao took a bite of his vegetable bun and mumbled, "Where are you hiding?"

"Tian Mansion."

"Ahem..." Geng Hao choked and coughed, staring at Shang Wan with wide eyes, "Where are you talking about?"

Shang Wan's expression remained normal. "There's an abandoned courtyard in the Tian Mansion, not far from the west corner gate. No one usually goes there, so it's the perfect place to hide people."

She saw it yesterday when she was lying on the roof. The yard was in a remote corner, overgrown with weeds, and seemed to have been abandoned for a long time. It would be no problem to store some food there for two days.

Geng Hao was not a fool. After thinking about it for a while, he felt that hiding in Tian's house might be a good idea.

As the saying goes, the darkest place is the darkest. Tian Sheng wouldn't suddenly ask someone to search his own house, right?

After the two of them had breakfast, Shang Wan took Niu Baoqing, who was still unconscious, on Geng Hao's back and hid in the abandoned courtyard of the Tian Mansion.

Shang Wan helped to clear the bed for Niu Baoqing to lie on. While Geng Hao turned his back to put some dry food in, he dripped two drops of spiritual spring water into Niu Baoqing's mouth, then pulled off his belt and tied his mouth tightly to prevent him from waking up and shouting to attract the servants of the Tian Mansion.

Geng Hao felt that it was not enough, so he pulled down the curtain, and the accumulated dust hit his face. He spat and came over with the curtain, tied Niu Baoqing's limbs to the bedposts, and tied a knot.

"Because this kid gets excited and the wound breaks open."

Shang Wan raised his eyebrows. He was quite good at making excuses. He was just worried that the person would run away.

"Keep an eye on him. When he wakes up, ask him if there's any poison left in the wine. I'm going to be out for a while."

Geng Hao looked up: "Aren't you going to wait for him to wake up?"

"It's urgent." Shang Wan waved his hand, "You guys stay hidden and don't come out. I'll be back soon."

After she finished speaking, she disappeared in a flash without waiting for Geng Hao to speak.

Geng Hao muttered quietly, "You're not afraid that I'll run away."

"Why don't you try running one?" Shang Wan suddenly came back with a big teapot in his hand.

Geng Hao shuddered and quickly explained, "No, no, I didn't dare. I just said it casually. Didn't I run away last night?"

Shang Wan glanced at him coldly and handed the big teapot over. "It's okay to make a small fire in the house during the day, but don't make it too smokey. There's a well in the yard. You can boil some tea yourself after you finish drinking it."

"Okay." Geng Hao took the big teapot and felt inexplicably touched.

Shang Wan really left this time and headed straight for Qingchi Temple on Tianlu Mountain outside the north city gate.

Qingchi Temple is a century-old temple that occupies almost the entire top of the mountain. Its popularity causes the top of Tianlu Mountain to be shrouded in green smoke year-round, giving it the illusion of a fairyland.

Shang Wan was intoxicated by the strong smell of incense and couldn't help but sneeze violently.

She rubbed her nose, jumped down from the treetop, and landed beside a small pond. There were three stone turtles standing by the pond, which looked somewhat similar to the one Shang Wanshun brought home.

She was just about to find a monk to ask where Master Kong was when she saw a little monk with a round head running towards her, panting, on his short legs.

The young monk, barely catching his breath, asked, "Female...female donor...is your surname Shang?"

Shang Wan nodded.

Seeing that he had found the right person, the little monk smiled and said, "Master Uncle has been waiting for Mr. Shang for a long time. Please follow me."

Shang Wan stood still, "Little monk, I have something urgent to do with Master Kong. Where is he now?"

The young monk raised his head and looked at her, "Master's uncle's Dharma name is Liaokong."

Shang Wan was slightly surprised. How did Master Liaokong know that she would come?

She smiled and let the little monk lead the way.

The little monk led Shang Wan to the back mountain and stopped at the cliff.

The mountain was shrouded in clouds and mist. On the edge of the cliff stood a green pine tree with an umbrella-like canopy. Below it was a stone table with a pot and two lamps on it.

Sitting next to the stone table was a bald monk wearing a jade-colored cassock. The monk had his back to the two of them, so his face could not be seen.

The young monk stepped forward and said, "Master uncle, donor Shang has arrived."

Liaokong turned around and asked the little monk to leave first, then nodded to Shang Wan and pointed to the opposite side of the stone table, "This is a coarse mountain tea, please have a taste."

Shang Wan walked over and sat down, picked up the teacup, and his eyes fell on the young and handsome face outside the space. He thought to himself, are there even monks in this world who look so enchanting?

This master looked to be in his early twenties, which did not fit the title of "Uncle Master" mentioned by the young monk at all.

Shang Wan drank half a bowl of tea, but apart from the aroma of tea, she couldn't taste anything else. Thinking of asking for help, she still said, "It tastes good."

"The donor is quite intelligent." Lekong curved his lips and smiled, his eyebrows and eyes were elegant, with a look of compassion for the world.

Shang Wan: Just two words can tell she has a talent for wisdom? How come she doesn't know she has a talent for wisdom?

She placed the purple bamboo flute on the stone table and said straight to the point, "Lu Chengjing was imprisoned for taking the blame for someone else, so I came to ask the master for help."

"With the presence of this noble donor, Donor Lu will surely be able to turn misfortune into fortune."

Liaokong picked up the purple bamboo flute, examined it for a moment, then brought it to his lips and began to play. The clear and melodious sound of the flute echoed through the mountains, like the sound of a fairy.

A flute tune by Master Liaokong is worth a fortune, but Shang Wan doesn't know its value.

She didn't understand why the monk opposite her suddenly started playing the flute. Although it sounded nice, could he not play the flute when discussing serious matters?

She knocked on the stone table. "Master, I don't object to you pursuing art, but time is urgent. Can we talk business first?"

The melodious flute sound suddenly stopped. Master Liaokong put down the purple bamboo flute and looked at her deeply.

"Donor Shang is a soul from another world, yet he has no reaction to this poor monk's requiem. How interesting."

(End of this chapter)